In conversation with Kartik Aaryan, the new chocolate boy of Bollywood

We did a quick catch-up with Kartik Aaryan at the launch of the Moto E5 and E5 Plus, in Delhi

With Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety turning out to be one of the surprise hits of the year, Kartik Aaryan has consolidated his image as the new chocolate boy of Bollywood. “I craved for the image,” he says, going on to tell us how Sonu was his favourite character.

For his next, he’ll play a news reporter at a local television channel in Mathura. “I am the star reporter of Mathura Live. First, we thought of that as the title, but later changed it to Lukka Chhuppi, after the game of hide and seek. He’s the quintessential good boy every girl wants to take home, while “Kriti (Sanon) represents today’s girl who advocates gender equality.”

He’s quick to refer to Shah Rukh Khan as his inspiration and the reason he’s in films today. “Baazigar was the movie which initiated my drift towards acting,” but having grown up in a family where both his parents are doctors, Aaryan knew his choice wouldn’t be easy. “It was an unrealistic dream; I couldn’t tell them.” So he made an excuse to study in Mumbai and pursued an acting course alongside. When they finally got to know, “They thought their son had gone nuts. My parents knew nobody in the industry.”

Critics see his choice of roles as repetitive, but Aaryan has his own take. “I don’t want to make a shift from my strength,” he says, though in the same breath also talks about the demand for versatility. “If I like a script, I will definitely pick films of different genres; but I won’t do something just for the sake of it.” Kartik has reportedly been approached for the third instalment of Pyar Ka Punchnama and is likely to feature with Amitabh Bachchan in Aankhen 2.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Daily Report and is published from a The Hindu.)